Digging Around the Edges with Small-Cap Stocks

Several articles talk up stocks that play niches ranging from "frontier" markets to Wyoming coal. And some further proof that stock markets are baffling.

Every so often, a new term enters the investor lexicon that sums up the latest fad or interest. (Remember learning that "rare earth" was more than just a flash-in-the-pan 1970s rock band.)

Lately, there have been more and more stories about the "frontier" emerging markets. These are national markets that got a later start on the road to development: think Pakistan and Estonia, as opposed to more established...